Return to Urtraghus
by zlot
Summary: The Galactic Federation's attack on the Pirate Homeworld failed, much to the dismay of a Pirate Commander. As he defects to the Federation, Samus must form a second plan to destroy the Leviathan Core.
1. Chapter 1

I use a lot of brackets rather than a lot of parentheses. I also use the comparison symbols a bit.

* * *

"Return to Urtraghus"

"Assault on the Transit System"

/

[HC]_ADVISORY

TO: ALL UNITS

GALACTIC FEDERATION INVASION UNDERWAY

INVASION FORCE LAST SEEN AT SKYWAY ACCESS

INTENT TO BREACH LEVIATHAN CORE

THE HUNTER IS CONFIRMED TO BE PART OF THE ATTACK

MUST NOT ALLOW FEDERATION BREAK DEEP INTO TRANSIT SYSTEM

DIVERT ALL MILITARY PERSONNEL TO TRANSIT STATION 0203-0205

/

The attack was launched in complete surprise to everyone on Urtraghus. That the GFS-Olympus was a part of it even more so, as it had been attacked only a month ago. That skirmish should have crippled the ship.

But the Space Pirates didn't let these thoughts trouble them as their home world was being attacked and their way of life threatened, even if that way of life was led entirely in service to an individual whose goal was to see the galaxy consumed by the corruption of Phazon. Why could it be that the Federation was attacking them in full force here, when the Metroid breeding projects on Zebes had only incited a solo infiltration, by a woman clearly out for revenge?

Whatever the reason, the Federation army pushed into the Pirates' transit system. There, the two armies collided, and the Pirate militia line was overrun by the marines. As the marines then set up defenses, a transit train arrived, full of Pirate reinforcements.

This second defense group was superior to the militia line in two important ways. First, it was composed of real troopers. Second, it included a berserker knight, a throwback to the moderate success of Project Helix. The Pirate troopers and the gargantuan berserker stilled the Federation army until the arrival of the Hunter. With the stolen Nova beam, she quickly killed the troopers, and she tactically dispatched the berserker with its own Phazon projectiles.

In this station, the Pirates' defenders consisted of the powerful advanced troops, whose armor was designed to minimize the effect of energy weapons, at the expense of being easily destroyed by explosives. The troopers fired on the incoming marines, suppressing their ability to return fire until they found cover. Several marines were killed, hampering the mobility of all the others. A long firefight ensued.

High Command was busy trying to figure out the strategic advantages of the Federation attack. When the defense reported the Federation army composition, the Pirate leaders determined that the Demolition troopers of the Federation army were the most vital part to the success of the invasion. Therefore, the yellow-armored humans were announced to be the highest priority targets, in this case even surpassing the importance of the Hunter.

By the time the Hunter appeared in the second transit station, three Demolition troopers had already been killed. But her arrival meant that the second station's defense line would soon be broken. The commander ordered all forces that were not immediately in battle to fall back to the third station.

In the final transit station, a Pirate commander and his squad of commandos waited for the assault. Last time, the hunter surprised the defenders by entering through a side tunnel rather than the main transit shaft. This time, no entrance was left unchecked.

The Federation took its time. They didn't appear through the tunnels or on the rails for a while trying to secure the locations they had already taken no doubt. Some impatient troopers ran on ahead, shot down from beyond the rest of the army's visual range. It was all just as well. As the army fell back further into the transit system, it became increasingly clear, even to the conscripted troopers, that the Federation had to advance, or else that their invasion would fail.

And the inevitable came.

The marines charged over the rails, simply spraying gunfire to break the line; it held.

The Pirates still had the order to focus fire on any of the enemy troopers in yellow armor, but still shot at every marine they saw. Something about this wave was different: the marines weren't dying as they should have. Instead, many Pirates' corpses littered the station floor, all marred by severe burns.

Phazon burns.

All the PED marines were pressing the charge at its front, just as High Command should have guessed, but none of the critical Demolition troopers were spotted in the main transit line. For that matter, the commandos hadn't yet joined the station fight either. As at the previous lines, the Hunter went to the tunnels, and the demolishers followed her. However, since most of the fighting was right in front of them, most of the Pirates could not focus on anything else.

In short time, it was clear that the Galactic Federation was winning, that the attack was succeeding. Some more attentive Pirate troopers could even see the dead bodies of the commandos thrown out of the transit tunnel.

And then all the marines turned back. The invasion was over. The home world held.

/

[Belgav-2.01.02716]_MESSAGE

TO: HIGH COMMAND

NO FEDERATION FORCES SEEN EN ROUTE TO TRANSIT SYSTEM

CRISIS AVERTED

RECOGNIZE CMDR [Valdar-1.09.81140] AS DEFENSE COORDINATOR

/

Still, the Federation's attack caused significant damage to the various systems of the home world. Transit line 02 and all its branches had to be inspected, no matter how obvious its crippled state was. Another army group raided the main ordinance foundry, so High Command would have to take inventory on that to see how far behind production was set. A few saboteurs snuck around the barracks, severing communication lines as they went, which would have to be individually checked and repaired due to internal receptor issues.

All things considered, there were a lot of repairs to be made and fortifications to be built, but while these were getting done, the Federation should not have the power to mount a second offensive.

* * *

This style will not persist through the rest of the story.


	2. Chapter 2

"Return to Urtraghus"

"The Exalted, The Sinister"

* * *

High Command was well known to all of them for not doing very much, and for their monthly public presentations where they said that they didn't do much. They were also fond of honoring combatants who had achieved something noteworthy in service to the state or to the cause of their people. It really was no surprise that High Command was so inclined to address commander Valdar today, seeing as he just saved the entire planet.

"…and though the accursed Federation army invaded with their fullest power and that infamous Hunter of theirs integrated into their charge, we have shown them yesterday that our land cannot be taken! They must now find invading our home world to be a matter of the highest gravity, and our capacity to defend ourselves to be greater than their own in the most desperate times.

"Now, when the time comes that they attack us again, that next effort will be far more calculated, more widespread. Once our systems are repaired and our plans drafted, there will be no relevance to the location or extent of their assault. In the meantime, we must ensure that each of us is individually prepared to make the necessary sacrifices to defend the home world. On this, we need only look to the example of commander Valdar, who led the defense yesterday.

"Against overwhelming odds, with near every advantage on the side of the Federation, the commander and his primary platoon mobilized on no warning and defended the most crucial site here. For the admirable organization of his forces, and for his quick thinking under pressure, we recognize commander Valdar as Hero of Urtraghus."

And there was much rejoicing.

High Command's message went on, mainly addressing chronic issues exacerbated by the damaged communication and transit systems. Keeping a steady food supply in an industrial area showered in acid rain was made feasible, even easy, by the mass transit. Due to the historically slow responses of the Logistics Department, several major factories and most Phazon mining operations had to be abandoned. In essence, High Command was admitting that the Federation attack was far more crippling than they had only just announced.

Such hypocrisy had invited criticism before, and by now the mysterious leaders had grown accustomed to dismissing it or ignoring it. This technique of dodging questions has brought the elites some infamy among the slightly less high ranked military officials. One of these officials was stationed in Transit 02 until a few weeks ago, when he was transferred to a secondary branch of the Phazon mines as both security and enforcement.

This commander, Zerrul, had mixed feelings about his reassignment. On one hand, patrolling the transit system was easy, albeit extremely boring. Keeping watch on the Phazon miners was no problem, but for some reason his reports regarding constant insubordination never received much attention from anyone he sent them to.

But now, with all the ruinous logistics problems that, according to Zerrul, only exist because High Command doesn't have direct authority over the Logistics Department, even his job in the mines is being taken away, with no promise or plan of bringing him back to work in the near future. For the time being, his authority as commander was suspended until a suitable position could be found, estimated to be a wait of three months. Given High Command's accuracy in most other estimations, this could actually mean his career was over.

He was still expected to attend regular conferences with the other commanders. Perhaps because of the discussion his comments incite.

"So how long do you all think it's going to take for Command to get Logistics over here?" he asked. "Everything's been shut down in the meantime."

Another commander said, "No clue. Logistics isn't used to being needed, so they're probably going to assume this is just some other odd requisition and get it here in a few weeks, as always. Anyway, Zerrul, why does this kind of stuff always bother you?"

"It bothers me," Zerrul answered, "because it's always High Command's problem! They can't get anyone but us to listen to them, and even then only because of our proximity. They're not making sure supplies are stored just in case of some attack like this one. They can't even tell when the Federation, or any other enemy, is about to attack because they're just as surprised as we are."

Some other commanders joined in. "It's not Command's fault that the Federation keeps its secrets well. There are times when the Feds just outsmart Command."

"Yeah, I heard the Federation had some covert ops here running a long time, landing off who-knows-where, sneaking in and cutting a line or two and then leaving. Maybe one of those lines connected Command to Logistics."

"How would you go about storing rations here anyway? There's lots of acid rain and radioactive substances here. What could possibly be safe to keep it in?"

Zerrul debated his points often. He had lost a fair amount of them, but he always had something valid to say about High Command. "Why worry about the Phazon here? The stuff is IN the rations, and against the acid rain, just suspend it high off the ground and put a roof over it. If you want to think really weird, you can even put it in some kind of box that's sealed. These same problems have to be overcome when we bring them in."

"Oh, right. Shouldn't you do something to solve this rather than complaining to us about it though? You seem to always know what you're talking about, but you don't do anything."

"You're reaching the core issue here," Zerrul replied, now visibly frustrated. "I've sent a bunch of notices about my troops not listening to a thing I say. I've suggested that the main command building be moved farther from the Phazon mines. I've brought up my thoughts about having central transit terminals that are in the middle of every route. I've mentioned how dumb it is that Logistics is a private business that trades with the state. I've been saying these kinds of things to everyone and to High Command, and nobody thinks much beyond 'that Zerrul guy's complaining again. What is it this time?'"

"So what, do you think high Command hates you for some reason?"

"Absolutely. You know I got moved from Transit to the mines right before nearly all mining was shut down? Of course, the mines I guarded for a week were the source of my biggest subversion fiascos, and it just feels so well timed that I got dumped there to suffer and be miserable for a month before I just got sacked."

"Do you think that has any more significance than my being moved to Transit just before this attack?" This time it was Valdar, the Urtraghian hero, who cut off the flustered officer. "For all we know, High Command could be stationing people with a dartboard map. Besides, if you couldn't control your battalion, this attack may well have been a blessing, because you sure would have been fired without it."

There was a humming sound. The force field doors powered down. At the door was a messenger. The commanders glanced at him, then towards the comm. computers.

"Line to here's been cut I'm afraid," the messenger said. "High Command has some work for you while you're all free doing not much else."

/

[HC]_MANDATE

TO: COMMANDERS

DETECTED MANY FEDERATION MIDDLE AND CAPITAL SHIPS IN ORBIT

SUSPECT FEDERATION BLOCKADE WEAK ON NORTHERN BRANCH

MANDATE: BREAK FEDERATION BLOCKADE

CLEARING USE OF STRONGEST SIEGE DESTROYERS

FLAGSHIP [Colossus] SPOTTED ON VECTOR TO STARPORT 2F

[Colossus] ETA TO PLANETARY ORBIT IN LESS THAN 2 HOURS

/

The commanders picked at this order all the way to starport 1C, trying to figure out whether High Command knew the GF ship composition or mobility, just how an entire planet could be put under blockade and generally trying to interpret which destroyers were cleared. "STRONGEST SIEGE DESTROYERS" was an ambiguous set.

As they entered the starport, the maintenance officer explained that only five destroyers were prepared to launch from 1C, but an adjacent port also had some destroyers ready for launch. As an alternative, 1C could simply launch all destroyers and one frigate, to speed things up. The maintenance officer left the commanders to choose which plan was better.

"I say we just take the frigate. There's really no use in waiting for an extra destroyer if it can't get into orbit in time to meet with the Colossus."

"I'm actually going to go to 1E to get another destroyer," Zerrul said. "It's not far enough away from here that transit will be a problem. The destroyer will provide a better chance to break through the Federation's formation."

"Well, if you want to go somewhere else, fine with us. Just don't be late or we're all screwed," the others warned him.

Zerrul took the direct transit to starport 1E, while the other five commanders on shift one started launching the destroyers in port 1C.

The Space Pirate military system was set up to allow the same commanders to lead in both army and navy operations. There were a bunch of ground battalions and astronaut crews founded just for certain positions and ships. The small group of commanders was used to lead a few sensitive patrols or important space missions, but these crews were trained to be able to run basic functions independently. This led to an idea of having ships on demand rather than having dedicated captains.

Starport 1C gathered the personnel for five destroyers and proceeded to launch within a few minutes. The ships were bound for orbital sector 4-4, where the vector of the Colossus passed into high orbit altitude of Urtraghus. Colossus had standing orders to engage any Federation vessel it encountered, and the destroyers were supposed to reach the blockade in time to provide support.

The maintenance officer of starport 1E asked, "What brings you here, Commander?"

"High Command put out an order to launch six destroyers to help the Colossus bypass a Federation blockade. Port 1C only had five."

"So you just came here thinking you'd take one of mine? I haven't received any notification that there was a blockade, for all I know you could be making that up."

"The blockade is very real, Officer. If the line from here to the Command Quarters have been fixed, you can go ahead and give them a call yourself. Ask them about the Federation blockade and their special orders regarding it."

"Warning, everyone, we've got ourselves a live badass over here. Alright, Commander, I'll call High Command." The maintenance officer opened the comm. line. There was chatter on the other side.

"The repair crews are much more responsive than that elusive Logistics Department. We'll have to see about making some staffing changes- Oh, the line to sp.1E is back! Officer of 1E, what is the issue?"

"I've got a commander here who's talking about a Federation blockade and says he needs to take one of my destroyers up to deal with it."

"What? Weren't there enough destroyers in 1C for this? How many commanders do we even have?"

"Sirs, I hate to be disrespectful, but I'm going to need a confirmation on this commander's need for a destroyer soon."

"So yeah, that order, how many commanders got that-? I think six were gathered in the meeting room when we gave it out, that's what the messenger said- Ah, right, why weren't there six destroyers in port 1C-? I think that's the port fitted for a battleship, and had to cut other stations. It has very few other ships- No, you're thinking of port 2A, 1C recently had some ships decommissioned for renovations. Among them was a destroyer. It just hasn't been reinstated yet- Oh really? Darn, we messed that one up. So one of the commanders took a train to 1E rather than just take a frigate up? Might as well clear it."

"So is he cleared to take a destroyer from here or not?"

"Yeah, the commander at your port is cleared to take a destroyer to support Colossus."

"Thank you." The officer closed the line. "Okay, Commander. Do what you must. I'll send a note to the crew about this. They should be ready in fifteen minutes."

"What was going on in High Command?"

"Lots of arguing. You didn't miss much. It seems that they can't keep track of their own orders, let alone external circumstances. I don't think they know what they're doing."

"So I'm not the only one who thinks that?"

"Oh, are you Zerrul? I read some of your opinions on them. It's amazing you haven't been announced as a traitor for those remarks."

"High Command is really good at being ignorant. It's very likely they haven't seen my papers, otherwise they would have noticed I'm a lot smarter than they are at solving problems."

"Commander, you might want to keep those kinds of claims to a minimum. Intelligence agents take bold statements very seriously."

"What makes you think High Command has any intelligence to have agents of? There's so little High Command can actually handle, anything I say is safe. I'm not entirely convinced they can stop me from doing anything either."

"Whatever you say, Commander."

Their conversation trailed off into silence, and soon the crew of the destroyer arrived. They immediately set to work, running diagnostics on every piece of the ship and testing every part they could safely.

In short time, everyone boarded and the destroyer was ready for launch.

* * *

I hope chapter length doesn't grow at this rate. I'm going to try to refrain from explaining anything with notes.


	3. Chapter 3

"Return to Urtraghus"

"Colossus Smash"

* * *

/

[UCFS-1C.1152]_TRANSMISSION

TO: [GFS-Bithynia]

TRANSLATION= URTRAGIAN:GALACTIC_STANDARD

WE ACKNOWLEDGE AS LEGITIMATE THE BLOCKADE OF URTRAGHUS

[UCFS-Colossus] IS APPROACHING ORBIT OF URTRAGHUS AND MUST DOCK

ALLOW PASSAGE TO [Colossus]

A WEAKNESS IN THE BLOCKADE HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED

IF [Colossus] IS DISALLOWED PASSAGE, WEAKNESS WILL BE EXPLOITED

WE ESTIMATE THIS EXPLOIT WILL BREAK THE BLOCKADE

/

The communication officer displayed this message from a Space Pirate destroyer onto the main screen. This attempt at negotiation was unusual for the Space Pirate fleet, especially since they claimed to know a weakness in the blockade formation. The admiral asked another officer, a tactical analyst, to give his opinion on the situation.

"Their flagship is returning from a long voyage, and its supplies are most likely low. Maybe even depleted. If it's true that they have five destroyers, there are two possible spots in our formation that might be broken by a combined attack with their flagship if it's still at battle capacity." The tactician's report bore a general sense of danger, and suggested that the Pirates be allowed to simply slip their flagship through a blockade.

"Find one weakness and reconfigure the fleet formation to correct it," the Admiral, last name Puldes, ordered. "If we can cripple the Colossus as it tries to enter, we will set back their production for a few months. They will focus their resources to repairing it. I want all frigates facing those destroyers, and every heavy weapon prepared to shoot down the Colossus as soon as it appears."

On the lead destroyer, Commander Valdar wondered why the GF ship hadn't responded yet. "Send orders to the other destroyers to take aim at their south side flank. We only need to take out their missile ships to provide the Colossus safe passage. Send another transmission to their capital ship."

"What for? They're not about to cut us a break here."

"Just try to scare them a little. The Colossus will be here soon, be ready to communicate with them immediately. If we can get the Federation to break formation, we can scatter, and the Colossus gets back to dock free."

"On it, Commander."

/

[UCFS-1C.1152]_TRANSMISSION

TO: [GFS-Bithynia]

TRANSLATION= URTRAGIAN:GALACTIC_STANDARD

WE HAVE BEEN TASKED TO SECURE PASSAGE FOR THE [Colossus]

WE ARE AUTHORIZED TO CALL REINFORCEMENTS AS NEED BE

ALLOW [Colossus] PASSAGE, OR REINFORCEMENTS WILL BE BROUGHT IN

IF IT COMES TO THAT, NO SHIP OF YOURS WILL BE SPARED

/

"Admiral, how do we respond to their threat? Do you think they can really get reinforcements if we engage now?"

"They might have reinforcements on the way already, or they might be trying to sneak something out. Don't engage those destroyers, Lieutenant, we just need to cover that weakness they tipped us off to and hold that new position." Admiral Puldes tried to create a conjecture that made sense given what he knew for sure. The Pirates presently had very few ships, and a sixth very powerful ship was on its way, but the Colossus was also very valuable to them.

"Admiral, the enemy destroyers are launching targeting waves on our destroyers. The intercepted frequencies indicate targeting for kinetic mass cannons, probably Cordite slugs. Another frequency found doesn't appear to have any practical application."

"Mass drivers? Gunnery, I'll admit I forget this: how far are those effective?" The range of the Space Pirates' weapons would determine how they had to be engaged, if at all.

"Admiral, mass drivers' effective range depends on slug velocity, but the Space Pirates have used these same weapons before, and usually tuned to effect at 3.2 light minutes." The lieutenant began simulating the damage those heavy guns could cause, trying to find a way to mitigate their destructive potential.

The Admiral sat in quiet contemplation, also trying to devise a plan to counteract the Space Pirates' deadly mass drivers. His ships had a far lesser range than the Pirates', and Puldes would not break off the blockade in response to pressure from a small force. But as he thought, a spatial anomaly formed behind his fleet.

"Admiral, a hyperspace exit point has been identified behind the fleet. This must be the Colossus trying to enter orbit. Colossus' ETA in twenty-two seconds."

"Forward to the fleet. Order all destroyers to rotate and face starboard at the exit point. Destroyers are clear to fire on the Colossus only at will. Move the Bithynia between our destroyers and theirs, face the top towards the Pirate destroyers. Order all frigates to maintain position and prepare to chase Colossus as it passes."

The order was out, and the Colossus was here. Admiral Puldes commanded eight destroyers in this blockade. Suddenly, one of those destroyers exploded. Before the Pirate commanders could pick off another, the Bithynia was in place, blocking the GF destroyers from the Pirate ships. One flaw of this spot was that the Pirate destroyers could just move, or could potentially cripple the capital ship. This risk had already been considered, and deemed an acceptable loss in exchange for the opportunity at stopping all Space Pirate production.

The Federation destroyers fired on the Colossus on a guess; none of the ships waited to scan and aim at the Pirate flagship, as all their captains figured they couldn't possibly miss such a large target. The laser barrage splashed onto the hull of the giant ship, leaving scorch marks all over but not causing any significant damage. When the destroyers got a clear image of their target, and all agreed to one location, they fired the laser batteries at full power, up from forty percent, focusing every burst on the propulsion shield generator. After the second round of cannon fire, there was a small explosion on the Colossus.

On the bridge of the Colossus there was order. There were many, and no time for panic. Orders were sent to the weapon operators, propulsion, navigation, radar, defense systems and every other station on the ship.

There was also a bold plan from the captain of Colossus. He did not want to fly past the GF destroyers nor get into a firefight with them. Both would result in too much damage, as well as a delay in transporting an important asset to the surface, directly to High Command. A very important person, recovered from beyond the galaxy. To this end, the Colossus's captain decided the best course was to plow straight through the Federation ships.

"Admiral!" one lieutenant on the Bithynia shouted, "The Colossus is raising forward shields. It's changing course; it's heading right into the fleet." He checked a few more figures and ran a few more calculations. "At constant acceleration, it's set to hit us in three minutes."

Admiral Puldes snapped, "Scatter the fleet and get us out of the way! After that, order all destroyers to resume fire on the Colossus's propulsion systems, and bring the Bithynia to engage the enemy destroyers. We can't let that ship get away intact." On which orders everything started moving: the Bithynia towards the five destroyers and the rest of the Federation fleet making sharp turns in every direction.

The charge of the Colossus, which was originally intended to run through the GF ships, was now a flyby. In many senses, this was better; the Colossus was armed with many side mounted missiles and cannons. The gargantuan ship also had an EMP generator in the front, which had been modified extensively during its latest campaign, and plasma batteries all over. The Colossus had always been considered a great threat, and even in a state of fatigue, as was the case now, it was still a dangerous opponent to the Galactic Federation.

The Colossus started charging its EMP generator, which had very peculiar behavior. The energy pulses did not form one solid wave, but rather scattered and travelled on many different arcs. These arcs did have some homing ability, but generally repelled each other, making it difficult to hit many ships clustered together. What it was good at crippling was heavily divided fleets. Like that under Admiral Puldes's command.

The bridge of the Bithynia reported an energy spike from the Colossus, with its source in the front of the Pirate flagship. The analysts on board had never seen the unique arcing generator of the Colossus, and determined that the incoming shot would be an incredibly wide charged particle field. The admiral ordered the ships to spread out even further, and all the destroyers changed course to double back and face Colossus again.

The destroyers had not gotten one quarter of the rotation desired when the EMP arcs hit. The gambit successfully disabled this sector of the Federation's blockade. All the big ships lost their main and auxiliary reactors, and the smaller ones suffered destructive meltdowns.

The damage reports on the Bithynia showed that a second contingency power generator was operating at full, but all systems would still be offline for a few more minutes, in which time the crew could only hope that the Colossus didn't attack them. Meanwhile, several squads trained to respond to blackouts went spacewalking and setting shield generators facing towards the Colossus and along its last projected path.

Admiral Puldes added a few orders: "Contact all the other sectors of the blockade at the first opportunity. They all have to know that there's been a breach. After that, send orders to every destroyer to retreat to Federation space." He then inquired about the ground army supplies on the Bithynia, and received a satisfactory answer. "Then after you reach the other ships, get down to the planet. Land us in as inconspicuous spot as possible, and prepare to start ground operations."

The decision to land may not have been the best, and the admiral was betting a lot on the Space Pirate's behavior, on the hope that they'd repair the Colossus at all costs.

* * *

One radian over, Commander Zerrul considered that he had a destroyer under his command isolated from every other active vessel. Everything he done was left to his own discretion. He would never have another opportunity to act on his spite for High Command, much less one with as much gravity as this. He determined that he'd have to do this in secret even on board this ship. Better not to risk having astronauts loyal to High Command rather than their current captain.

Zerrul let the proximity of the terminals influence his plan. He decided to clear the bridge. "All officers, I'd like to run some inspections on these terminals, if you don't mind." None of the officers gave any complaint; none seemed to acknowledge that he said anything. Zerrul walked from station to station, checking the undersides of the computers.

As subtly as he could manage, he sabotaged a few as he went, taking care to avoid damaging communication and navigation. The commander also couldn't simply cut crucial wires and disable the computers; it would be far too obvious that he was responsible in such an event. Instead, he made small punctures and frays. General safety hazards, but nothing completely disrupting the system.

When he finished, Zerrul told the staff of the bridge, "I've found several safety problems. Everyone, go down to Alpha Deck and wait for the all clear signal. Get someone from engineering up here quickly. I don't want there to be a fire."

One of the crew asked, "Captain, what about the Federation blockade? We're definitely approaching it; we can't just leave our posts now."

"Slow to geo-sync. The Federation will not break form to engage us. Don't do anything else. I want everyone off the bridge for repairs." The commander really had nothing to worry about. His crew was reacting to very normal concerns. Of course, he would have preferred that they not know about the Federation's presence, but it presently made no difference.

He watched all the officers head down to Alpha Deck, and waited for the repairman to arrive. He got to work, inspecting every terminal himself. Zerrul chose not to tell him which to start with, and the repair process took a while. He walked over to the mechanic as he finished fixing it.

Then he strangled the mechanic. Zerrul was completely alone on the bridge.

He took some wires from the mechanic's toolbox and connected the communication and navigation terminals to his main computer. After finishing this, he disabled those stations' interfaces and moved the mechanic's body and toolbox. Lastly, he put concealing tape on the wires. A bit overt, but an obedient crew was skilled in missing the obvious.

Commander Zerrul called the officers back up to the bridge.


	4. Chapter 4

"Return to Urtraghus"

"High Priority"

* * *

/

[UCFS-1E.1101]_TRANSMISSION

TO: [GFS-Olympus]

NO COMPLETE TRANSLATION

DISPLAYING NEAREST PHOENETIC TRANSCRIPTION

:YBAT AOIA NA OITEN [Zerrul] HNLA NUQEU

:JALKHWA WEHTWULS

:FAREK WEHTWUSARE BRESNIL [1101] JIH PRES

/

The communications officer was completely baffled by this message. "Admiral, the Space Pirates sent us a message. It's not marked as encrypted, but it's clearly not regular Urtraghian script. The Space Pirates must have developed some new encryption system."

Admiral Dane first asked, "If we can't read this, we'll have to assume it's a threat unless the situation makes more sense otherwise. How many ships are there? Puldes only recently sent a warning about the blockade failing."

A tactical display of the Space Pirate ship showed that there was, in fact, only one ship: a destroyer.

"What about cloaked ships?" Admiral Dane proposed. And several scanner sweeps were made on the area, and supported the possibility that there was only the one destroyer seen on the tactical display. "So it's probably not a threat. Has that ship been making radio noise?"

"None that we can track, Admiral. Beyond the one message, it's been thoroughly silent. I'll go over this transmission again, maybe I can find something out about it."

"Officer, that gibberish was translated, right?" Dane was thinking about different things to be done with an electronic message.

"It's flagged as transcribed actually, Admiral. The machine can't figure out how to translate it. It's just writing each syllable it interprets. Apparently, this is the most sense the software can make of the message."

Admiral Dane ordered the communication officer to display the message transcribed to match the original Urthagian runes. It was an outside-the-box idea, and standard translation software doesn't normally support this odd technique. The Olympus was better equipped than most GF ships, right down to the translators, and the computer got a large part of it done.

Soon, more of the message started to make sense, and it became clear what Zerrul was trying to do. The computer finally decoded the enigmatic message from the Space Pirate destroyer, and the officer put it up for the Admiral to see.

/

[UCFS-1E.1101]_TRANSMISSION

TO: [GFS-Olympus]

LITERAL RUNIC TRANSCRIPTION

AM OF SPACE PIRATES, ZERRUL, COMMANDER

RELINQUISH DESTROYER

EXCHANGE RELIC SHIP [1E.1101] FOR PASS

/

"Respond to them, officer," Admiral Dane ordered. "Tell them that they can use their native language for this, and you use theirs as well. It'll lessen the strain on both our ships." So on the Admiral's orders, the Olympus entered full communication with the Space Pirate destroyer. With time delays, it was a long conversation, in which Zerrul expressed his wish to defect from the Space Pirates.

An open act of treason would be too dangerous to commit in orbit above the homeworld, but something had to be done while communication was possible. As both sides, that was, the Federation and Zerrul rather than the Pirates, brainstormed plans to throw off High Command, Zerrul provided the essential command codes for the various systems of the destroyer that, at that point, were unnecessary. The Olympus staff quickly prepared shutdown commands for the destroyer's weapons and communication, but did not initiate either.

After much deliberation, Admiral Dane came up with a plan with which Zerrul agreed. The destroyer was to make its way to the planet Inferrus-II in area KI-15595. Later, Samus would be sent there to capture the commander alive and bring him back to GF headquarters. This plan would, however, divert Samus away from destroying the Leviathan seed, but right now, there was a single route to breach the seed, and the GF had only recently failed to take it.

And then Zerrul claimed to know an alternate route into the seed.

The entire bridge of the Olympus was buzzing with speculation at once, and when it died down, Admiral Dane ordered, "Tell that commander to get to Inferrus-two right away. He's too important to lose now. Also, open a line to Samus."

Bounty hunters are traditionally difficult to reach directly; most contact with them is done through focused advertising of jobs. Much in the same vein that she was far more effective and efficient than other bounty hunters in the galaxy, so too was Samus Aran far more accessible. The bridge of Olympus got a line to her gunship in just two proxies.

"Samus, we have just contacted a Space Pirate who says he can help find a way into the Leviathan seed." Admiral Dane wanted to hear her initial response to the availability of this information.

This response was delayed by the as-of-yet unavoidable proxy lag. "Not to offend your sense for motives, Admiral, but what are the chances that this may be some sort of trap?"

"We haven't yet confirmed that this is genuine, but it was a commander that claimed to know this new route, and he claims that the crew on board his bridge doesn't know about this yet. He's willing to meet in person, even with you, in order to discuss his method of destroying the seed."

"So you want me to capture him alive, or liberate him as the case may be. My ship doesn't have room for any passengers. What are we going to do about troop transport?"

"The Pirate commander and we have discussed the logistics of bringing him off the planet: we will send a troopship to pick him up the moment you make planetfall. We have arranged for the commander to go to the planet Inferrus-two in the KI-15595 sector. Also, Samus, we must assume that the other Space Pirates have learned about this plan one way or another. For this and other reasons, speed is imperative. You must bring him back as soon as possible."

"All understood, Admiral. One last question: should I follow the troopship on departure?"

"Indeed, Samus. We will tell the troopship everything you need to know, as you need to know it. Proceed with all swiftness."

* * *

On the Colossus, a transmissions operator had picked up the conversation between Zerrul and the Olympus. When this news reached the bridge, the captain decided that acting on this information was secondary to returning to Urtraghus with somebody of very high importance on board.

The captain ordered a line be opened to High Command. It was done so at once.

"I want to address all members of the High Command Council. I've returned from my extended excursion into previously unexplored space. I have left beacons on several solar systems, of which all were deemed suitable for Phazon transmutation.

"In addition," the captain continued, "on my way, I picked up a distress signal from a moving object. The trajectory of it seems to have been deliberate from beyond the galaxy. Critically, this fighter, which we have identified as one of our older designs, contained the, long thought deceased, General Weavel. He was found in cryo-stasis, and we must bring him to a central medical center, and this was the only option we've found.

"We have broken through the Galactic Federation blockade in the north. Appurtenant to Weavel, there is a matter to be discussed in private." After he finished, he waited only for High Command to acknowledge his return, as was their response to most messages. When he deemed that the High Command Council actually understood his announcements, he closed the line and went down for docking.

Logistically, the return of the Colossus meant complete havoc for the current state of Urtraghus, but as it was already nearing a state of chaos, this didn't change much.

The captain, having seen Weavel's transport to a revival facility, called for transit to the High Command building. He arrived shortly, and had even more to say.

"Captain Uldnas, we recall you had something important to tell us that required our physical presence as well as our attention. What's the heart of the matter?"

"High Commanders, a transmissions operator picked up a dialogue between GFS-Olympus and one of our destroyers. We scanned the area and found it was a lone destroyer contacting the GF fleet. From this, we surmised that the destroyer, or the captain on board, was preparing to defect."

"If it's a destroyer, it must be Zerrul, he was the only commander who hasn't checked back in at 1C yet."

Another High Command councilor said, "Remember, Zerrul had that problem there not being enough ships, so he went to starport 1E. We have yet to check with them yet."

"We've checked in on them, they just haven't responded. In any case, elaborate with your report, Captain."

"Olympus mentioned something about Inferrus-two and KI-15595. Most likely, the former is a planet in the latter sector. Implicitly, the destroyer is headed to Inferrus-two to abandon our great purpose and be evacuated by the Federation. The operator also picked up something about The Hunter. Presumably, she is also headed there."

"Thank you for informing us, Captain, we will take it from here." High Command saw the captain leave, and began to form an order for the star commanders.

/

HIGH COMMAND_MANDATE

TO: ALL ACTIVE COMMANDERS

COMMANDER [Zerrul] HAS DEFECTED TO THE GALATIC FEDERATION

HE WAS REPORTED TO BE EN ROUTE TO [INFERRUS-II] AT [KI-15595]

[Zerrul] INTENDS TO BE EVACUATED BY THE HUNTER

GET TO THE TRAITOR BEFORE THE HUNTER DOES; KILL HIM

/

This High Command order quickly spread across the whole planet; there was no doubt that nearly every commander responded to it. A private extension was sent only to the commanders that broke the blockade, telling them to head to the battleship Gianthold, a precursor to the Colossus.

In Gianthold, Commander Valdar assumed control of all his associates' commando squads, and assembled a team of berserker knights together with a massive force of infantry. He expected the Gianthold to outrun even Zerrul's destroyer to Inferrus-II. Valdar hoped to catch the traitor as he landed.

While the commanders were scrambling to find and kill Zerrul, High Command sent word to the Dark One that an individual of great power has recently been brought back to Urtraghus. They determined that General Weavel could easily replace the late Mistress Gandrayda as an agent of the Dark One's corruptive influence. As it happened, she was already on her way to observe the status of the homeworld after the Pirates successfully defended their territory.

Preceding the Dark One's arrival, an agent of High Command oversaw the revival of Weavel. The process was long and already underway. Cryo-stasis revival was damaging, and at one point potentially fatal. Because the final stage consisted of complete submersion in a fuel gel compound, and its subsequent detonation, the body had to be safeguarded from complete destruction. The amount of fuel gel in the compound had to be cleared by High Command or a stand-in, as became alarmingly common.

The static body was tempered and covered with liquid tralghite, and the revival team calculated that a 14% fuel gel mixture should be used. Once the body was submerged, two ignition rings were positioned about the tank: one above, the other below. Simultaneously, the rings were sparked and the fuel gel mixture blew up. The explosive force of the fuel gel squeezed the tralghite into the frozen body, and successfully raised Weavel back into consciousness.

"Tell us, General," one of the Science Team members said. "How are you feeling?"

Weavel look around in bewilderment; he had been raised almost from the dead. "Back among my own kind," he whispered. "Free from the Alimbics' trap. Should not have sought their 'ultimate power'. Much the fool to do so." Weavel's ramblings dived into nonsense before long, and Science Team saw little alternative but to immediately purify his mind with the deepest corruption possible.

For a few minutes, Weavel alternated between mumbling about the Alimbic super-weapon and screaming in horror of an all consuming darkness. Science Team took notes and judged that, considering the very closely guarded secret of his Alimbic Cluster mission, his mood swings were far less intense than those of other Phazon subjects.

Some servicemen came at the base of the facility, carrying a package for Science Team. On the outside, it was sealed and marked highly radioactive. This was to be expected; Phazon was carefully handled.

What was not so expected was the mark on the inside: "VERTIGO."

The legendary strain and the legendary general. Perhaps Science Team was blessed.


End file.
